The Economic Makers with Survey on Online Shopping Behavior

Lockdowns and Corona measures have led to unprecedented peaks in online retail in recent years, with record sales during the Christmas season. Whether German Santa Clauses will continue to shop online more frequently or not was the question posed by “The Economic Makers“ in a representative survey conducted in autumn 2022. The results show: Only half of consumers shop today as they did before 2020 – and the proportion of online shoppers at Christmas is increasing.

(Frankfurt/Munich) A representative flash survey conducted in autumn by the initiative “The Economic Makers” shows: Online retail is likely to be the most popular market for Christmas shopping in 2022, with a significant lead over shopping centers and city centers. Specifically, for about 60 percent of Germans, online retail is the first choice for Christmas shopping, while another 14.5 percent consider it the second option. Especially those aged 26 to 60 today prefer to order their Christmas gifts online.

Increase in Online Share of Christmas Shopping

According to the survey, a normalization of Christmas shopping after the end of most Corona measures has only occurred for just under 52 percent of respondents. Thus, only half of Germans are shopping online on Christmas Eve as much as they did “before the pandemic.” Meanwhile, 27 percent report buying more online than before the pandemic – an increase of 6 points compared to the 21 percent who are shopping less than before.

Only a few Santa Clauses wait until the last moment. Almost half of the respondents want to have their purchases or orders completed at least a month before the holiday. Only 8 percent are still buying gifts in the week before Christmas Eve.

“Online retail has proven to be a reliable partner for private consumer purchases during the pandemic, and customer habits continue to change beyond that,” explains Frauke Heistermann, spokesperson for the initiative “The Economic Makers.” “In the long term, we see an increasingly taken-for-granted use and a growing importance of online retail. The Christmas business is a good benchmark for that.”

With 1,009 respondents, the survey provides a representative snapshot of the perception of the logistics sector in the German public. In addition to answers to the three core questions, participants also provided information about their age, gender, education, and industry affiliation. The flash survey was conducted in October 2022 and supported by the Economic Makers members Panattoni, PSI Logistics, and Seifert Logistics.

Here is the survey: Link to the survey

Photos/Graphics: © The Economic Makers